


The meaning of family

by Jamz1233



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ben Parker is technically Ben Prewett, Ben and May Parker are the best, Ben and Richard are squibs, Ben's gonna be younger than Richard Parker here, Dislike though, May doesn't know about magic, Maybe technically cousin?, Molly especially, Not exactly bashing, Peter is the best little brother, Richard and Mary are already dead, Weasleys aren't good here, You can't change my mind, like seriously, or he will be, they're the sweetest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:34:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27284251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamz1233/pseuds/Jamz1233
Summary: Amelia Weasley was officially deemed a squib at eleven years, four months and sixteen days. When Charlie, Percy, Fred and George Weasley were sent back to Hogwarts for their seventh, fourth and second years, Amelia was sent away.
Relationships: Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Original Female Character(s), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Ben Parker & Original Female Character(s), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. 1

May and Ben Parker were enjoying a weekend alone. Peter was spending the night with his best friend, Ned Leeds, and they both had the weekend off. What should've been a perfect night was disturbed by a knock at the door. Setting down his glass of wine, Ben stood to open the door to see a woman dressed in strange clothes, holding a trunk in one hand and a girl in her other.

"Babe, who is it?" May called.

"Molly?" Ben asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help. May we come in?"

"Um, sure." He stepped to the side puzzled. The young girl stepped through first. "What are you doing here in New York, Molly?"

"Ben?" May called again, approaching them. "Who's this?"

"My sister." He said. He glanced at the child. 

"Benjamin, we need to talk." Molly said.

"I wouldn't have recognised you, had it not been for the hair and the clothes. It's been, what? Two decades, give or take?"

"Nineteen."

"You didn't even come for Rick's funeral. You remember Richard, don't you?"

"I don't have long. I have to go back home. I need you to take Amelia." She put her hands on the young girl's shoulders.

"What?" Ben scoffed. He looked at the young girl. "How old is she?"

"I'm eleven." Amelia spoke up. Ben clenched his fists and glared at his older sister.

"She didn't get into your precious school." He raised a brow.

"You can give her a better life than I can Ben. You remember what it was like with you and Richard. You understand better than anyone. She doesn't belong." 

Ben turned to his girlfriend. "May, mind getting Amelia some water?"

"Sure." She said, leading the girl to the kitchen. "Come on, sweetie."

"You know what I remember, Molly? I remember our parents not trying. My siblings excluding me. She's your _daughter_. She deserves you trying for her. She deserves a mother who doesn't care-" He looked to check on May and lowered his voice, "- who doesn't care whether or not she has magic. You can't seriously be thinking about abandoning her?"

"I'm not abandoning her. I want her to have the best life that she can. Growing up in a household of magic, forever unable to perform any herself? I don't want her to grow up like that."

"What do Fabian and Gideon think?" Molly's face fell.

"Benjamin, there was a war in the wizarding world. They didn't make it." Ben staggered back, before leaning on the wall, taking a moment to take in a deep breath. 

"So, your name's Amelia? Got a last name?" May asked the young girl. Amelia shrugged.

"Amelia Grace Weasley." She said. "Are you my uncle Ben's wife?"

"Um, no. Not yet. One day, soon. How well do you know your uncle Ben?" May asked. Amelia shrugged.

"Never heard of him before today. Do you think he'll let me stay? I know my mum and dad don't want me, and he probably won't either but I promise to behave. As soon as I'm seventeen I'll get a job and leave. That's six years away, but I won't be a bother until then."

"You don't think your parents want you?"

"My mother packed my bag and flew me on an aeroplane across continents just to drop me off here. I think she's pretty eager to get rid of me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not like her. I'm not like any of my siblings. I'm not normal."

"What do you mean by normal?"

"I'm not special like everyone else. Everyone else in my family is." The front door closed with a slam. May, looking confused, went to go investigate only to see that Molly had gone, leaving behind her daughter.

"Ben?"

"A sibling might be good for Peter?" He looked like he'd been hit by a truck.

"I think so too." She smiled at him, walking over to give him a reassuring hug. Ben looked up at the child standing timidly at the kitchen doorway.

"Hi, Amelia." He walked closer to her. "I'm your uncle Ben. Think you might like to stay with me a little while?"

"Really?"

"I know I'm not your dad, but I would really like it if you stayed with me."


	2. 2

Amelia liked her uncle Ben almost immediately. He was kind and strong and his fiancée was really nice. That evening, he helped her move into a room with a bunk bed in it. Apparently it was her cousin Peter's room.

They didn't hit it off straight away. Peter was hardly used to living with other kids, and Amelia was entirely too used to living with other kids. It really wasn't until May and Ben's wedding that they found something they could bond over.

"Peter?" Amelia knocked on the door to their shared bedroom. She was wearing a pale blue dress, and her hair was styled in two Dutch braid. "Uncle Ben wants to know if you're ready. We've got to leave in ten minutes." The door opened showing Peter in an adorable blue tuxedo. His tie was missing.

"I'm ready." His face was red.

"I don't think so." She pushed past him and walked over to wear the tie was discarded.

"I can't do it, so I'm not wearing it." He insisted.

"Or I could do it for you." She picked up the tie and walked back to him. ignoring his protests, she began to secure the small bow tie around his neck. "There." She said as she finished.

"Oh, thanks. How did you know how to do it?"

"My mum used to do it for my dad, every morning before he left for work." She said, quickly adjusting his collar and his jacket. He walked over to the mirror to look. As though just registering what she said, she tensed up. "Let's go before we make them late to their own wedding."

"You don't talk about your parents much." 

"What's there to say? Guess I'm just one kid too many and they ran out of love." She walked out of the room leaving Peter alone.

That night, Peter and Amelia were left with the neighbours for the weekend while May and Ben went on their honeymoon. They both had demanding jobs, and kids, so they didn't go far and decided on a weekend trip to Montauk rather than a week long trip. Miss Molly next door was sweet, but Amelia was reminded too much of her mother to really like the lady. Still, she behaved with perfect manners.

The weekend was soon over, and Amelia and Peter were back in their old routine. They'd be dropped off at school ridiculously early by either Ben or May (they alternated). Amelia would be in middle school, and Peter was in elementary, though the two schools weren't all that far apart. Peter would take the morning to dumpster dive for things Amelia didn't understand, and she'd be reading as many muggle books as she could find. After school, Amelia would walk back over to Peter's school and he'd babble about some sort of science-y thing she could never understand. She was still not sure how the refrigerator was supposed to work. They'd walk home with one of Peter's friends and sometimes only marginally beat May home. She'd order in some lunch or serve some of the leftover dinner Ben cooked. She'd stay long enough to make sure they got started on homework before leaving for her next shift. Ben would return before dinner and make them some food, ask about their day (he'd even listen fondly to Peter and she wondered if she'd ever manage to understand the muggle world like he seemed to). May would return before they went to sleep, check over their homework, and let them watch a movie before sending them to bed and leaving the adults to talk about their day.

It was so marvellously different than back home. Amelia was used to the only fascinating thing happening be Ron eating a worm from the back garden, or she and Ginny sneaking in to nick the boys' brooms to play their own version of quidditch. Here, there seemed to be something new every day. Take today, for example.

"Anything interesting happen at school today?" Ben asked the duo as he served them plates of warm spaghetti bolognese. As usual, Amelia just shrugged without a reply.

"Miss Carrington said I should apply for Midtown Junior. It's a science and technology school and she thinks I could get in on a scholarship, so you wouldn't even have to pay for it. She gave me the application and said it's best to apply soon than later." Peter answered. "Can I, uncle Ben? Can I, can I, can I?" He begged.

"May and I will have to look over it first, but I don't see why not." Peter beamed. "That's really great news, Peter! I'm proud of you." (Okay, so sometimes it stung a little when Ben didn't look at her the way he looked at Peter. But at least he wasn't kicking her out. It meant he didn't hate her. Maybe he would love her if she was more like Peter. Maybe her parents would have loved her if she had magic like them.)


	3. 3

The one thing wrong with being like Peter was that Peter loved science. She didn't understand it. So she focused her sights onto books that were simply about science. The librarian always smiled when she did. Something about girls being into stems. Amelia didn't know what flowers had to with science. ( ~~Maybe she could ask Peter.~~ No, Peter never needed help in science. Neither would she.)

One night, while she was reading one of the books from the library, and Peter was tinkering with some metals, he turned to her.

"You'll be okay if I don't go to school with you, right?" She looked at him. She'd thought about that a lot. Now that Peter was going to a special school, she was once again the strange, unremarkable child. Which meant that whatever friendship that had been budding between them wouldn't matter. Peter would have new friends who were like him. He wouldn't really want to hang out with someone like her. She shrugged.

"It isn't really anything new. We've never gone to school together." She pointed out.

"I know, but we were supposed to." She didn't answer. He changed the subject. "It's uncle Ben's birthday tomorrow. Do you know how to make cake?"

"Yeah."

"Can we make it together?" She nodded.

"Sure."

"We can't tell anyone. Aunt May says we can't use the kitchen without supervision, and uncle Ben is the only supervision around here. It won't be much of a surprise cake if he knows."

"What if we get in trouble?"

"We won't." Peter promised. "They'll be more moved by the gesture, as long as it's successful." Amelia looked hesitant and Peter jutted out his bottom lip as he pouted. "Please?"

"But what if uncle Ben hates us for not following the rules?"

"He won't hate us." Peter frowned. "He loves us. And he'll love us more if we give him a cake baked with love." This seemed to convince her. 

"Fine. Let me go see what ingredients we have. Anything we don't have, we can get tomorrow after school." Amelia said and slipped out to check out the kitchen.

Turns out Peter shared May's affinity for messing up anything he touched in the kitchen. After the third time he failed to properly break an egg, Amelia sidelined him- he could only watch and not touch. 

"Are you sure we don't need more flour?" He asked.

"Too much flour makes the cake too dry." She answered.

"Oh." He nodded. "Are you sure we don't need less?"

"Have you ever made a cake?"

"No." He shook his head.

"If you don't add the precise ingredients, the cake will end up destroyed. For example, not enough flour, and it'll be too runny. It won't stay together."

"How many times have you made cake?"

"Do you want to mix?" She asked. 

"Are you sure?"

"All you have to do is move this in a circular motion. Clockwise, anticlockwise, a figure eight- it doesn't matter. You really can't go wrong with mixing." Peter nodded and took the spoon, carefully mixing. Amelia turned away and began putting away everything else. She turned back to Peter who was being extremely gentle. "Try to be a little stronger with the mixing. We want to get rid of the lumps. Like this." She took the bowl away from him and demonstrated. She handed it back to him. 

They waited until both Ben and May were home to get out the cake. They'd managed to wrangle takeout for dinner, under the guise of it being Ben's birthday and he shouldn't be forced to cook on his birthday. They carried it out together, singing happy birthday as they set it down in front of both Ben and May. Ben looked at May suspiciously.

"Am I going to find eggshells if I take a bite?" He teased.

"I don't know, didn't you help them?" They both seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Please don't tell me you two were in the kitchen on your own."

"We had Mr Lackowski from upstairs help us with the oven bit." Peter said, and they breathed out a sigh of relief. "But we did the rest on our own."

"You did, did you?"

"Do you like it?"

"I'm going to have to taste it first, aren't I?" Ben winked.

"I'll go get a knife and some forks." May jumped up. She quickly returned, with plates, forks and a knife.

Ben got the first slice. He served everyone before taking a bite. His eyes widened. "You two made this?" Peter nodded. "Where'd you get the cake mix?"

"We didn't. We got it from Amelia's head." Peter was beaming at her too and she scowled at him. What was that supposed to mean? She didn't have long to ponder, before May took a bite too.

"Now I get the appeal of a home cooked meal."

"This isn't a meal, May. It's dessert." Ben laughed at his wife's antics. "But it is delicious. Thank you, kiddos." He held out his arms and Peter walked into them, giving him a hug. Amelia didn't move. "You don't want to get in on this, 'Melia?" Ben asked.

"Me?" She asked puzzled and he nodded.

"Yes, you, silly. Who else?" Amelia smiled and joined the hug, as May moved the coffee table back.

It was months later when a letter addressed to Peter came in the mail.

"It came! It came!" Peter sung, running around the apartment. May wouldn't let him open it until Ben came home, so he was running around the house in excitement. Meanwhile, Amelia was beginning to find interest in engineering books. It wasn't Peter's brand of science, but she liked the idea of using physics and mathematics to put things together. Everything had a role. Kind of like when she baked or cooked. May came and sat next to her.

"I do not know where that boy gets the energy from." She sounded exhausted. Amelia looked up at her curiously. "Tell you what, kid. Tomorrow, you and I are going to go out and have a girl's day out. We'll leave the boys to their own devices, yeah?"

"Okay." Amelia said.

"Alright, what do you want for lunch?"

"Can I make lunch?"

"I was thinking Pizza versus Thai, but do you know how to cook?" May asked and Amelia nodded. "Alright, but I get to assist."

"Chicken stew?"

"You're the boss. I'm just going to make sure we get out safely if the kitchen burns down." This elicited a smile out of Amelia. She and May walked into the kitchen and Amelia got some chicken out of the freezer. She filled a bowl with water and set it to the side. She checked around the kitchen for spices, onion, garlic, potatoes, and other basic ingredients for chicken stew.

"We need chicken stock and potatoes."

"Trip to the supermarket?" May asked and Amelia nodded. "Peter, get your shoes on."


	4. 4

She was starting to get the hang of living with the Parkers. Of living like a muggle. Of course, she often sat outside on the fire escape watching for any owls that might come. From her family or from any number of her siblings. From either of her parents, or maybe even from Hogwarts to say there was a mistake. That Amelia _did_ have magic and should attend. Realistically she knew it wouldn't happen. She'd never really done any accidental damage, unless you count that time she made her bedroom door close without touching it. But that could also have been the wind, and she'd had every single kind of test. She was a plain squib. Still, she could hope. Nothing ever came.

Once after a particularly bad week, she crawled out onto the fire escape, hoping her mother could sense her distress and send her a letter to assure her everything would be okay. She didn't. But Ben crawled out next to her and sat down.

"You know these are for emergencies?" He said. She shrugged. "What's wrong, kiddo?"

"Nothing." She grumbled.

"You miss home?" She looked at him, startled.

"A little." She turned back out to the sky.

"Come on, I get it. I left behind the magic world too. It sucks not getting to be part of it."

"I don't care about that." She grumbled. "I don't care about any of that."

"Bad day at school?"

"Why does she hate me?" Amelia asked in a soft voice, her eyes never leaving the horizon.

"She doesn't hate you, kiddo."

"She never writes to me. Does magic mean so much to all of them that she doesn't want to talk to me anymore?"

"It isn't your fault." He shifted, putting his arm around her. "I don't really know much about your mom, if I'm being honest. After your uncle Rick and I moved to the states, I lost contact with her and the rest of our family."

"It's not fair." 

"No, it's not. What your parents are putting you through is absolutely, one hundred percent not fair."

"I miss Ron and Ginny, and the twins and Charlie and Bill. I even miss Percy, and I never thought I'd ever say that."

"How many siblings do you have?" Ben asked.

"Seven. Bill's the oldest. He's training to be a curse breaker. Then there's Charlie. He's a quidditch extraordinaire. He's the best seeker ever, but he wants to work with dragons after Hogwarts. Then there's Percy. He wants to work in the ministry, like dad. But he wants to be the minister for magic. Next are the twins. They're pranksters. They're annoying but good for a laugh. One time they transfigured Ron's teddy into a huge spider." Amelia huffed out small laugh at the memory. "Then there's Ron, he's a year younger than me. He's yet to go to Hogwarts. He's the best at wizard's chess. No one's ever beaten him. He and Charlie get along a lot because they both like dragons. And then there's Ginny. She's the only other girl and the youngest. She's sneaky, and gets away with a lot 'cos she blames it on the twins."

"Sounds like a pretty lively household." Ben said.

"It was." Ben winced, realising it was the wrong thing to say. "Not mine anymore. You and uncle Rick changed your last names."

"Yeah, we did. Kept the P from Prewett and turned it into Parker."

"Can I change my name too?" She asked. "They don't want me, anymore. So I don't want to be one of them."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. "Why don't you take some time and think it through?"

"I don't want to be a Weasley, uncle Ben. Please. I mean, if you don't want me to change it to Parker, I can choose something else. But I don't want to pretend like I'm one of them when they don't want me. I hate them. I hate my mum and my dad because they sent me away without much of a discussion. And if you weren't here, I don't know what they would have done with me. They never told us about you or uncle Rick. I didn't even know you existed. They're going to erase me the same way too, I know it. So I don't want to be reminded of them either. Please?" She begged.

"I would be honoured if you chose the last name Parker." Ben told her. "I just want to make sure you're sure about this. So what if you give it a month, and if you still want to change it, we'll march right down to the courts and do as you wish."

"Just one month?" She asked and Ben nodded. 

"One month." 

"Thank you." She smiled and gave him a hug.

"Now, what do you say we get back inside before you catch a cold." Amelia looked outside one last time before nodding.

"Yeah, okay. There's nothing out here anyway."


	5. 5

By the time Peter started his first day at Midtown Junior, Amelia was used to the muggle world enough to go to school on her own. It had been two years, after all. Ben and May had both insisted on taking Peter to school together, which definitely didn't make Amelia jealous at all ( ~~or maybe it did a little but she was proud of him so it didn't count~~ ).

Peter was definitely happy about the way his first day went. He met another boy called Edward- Ned for short- and they had instantly clicked, talking about Star Wars and all the other weird stuff they liked. Peter was even more excited about the chemistry lab and the robotics club and signed up for practically every club running at their school that wasn't the school paper. He'd even joined band club like the dork he was, claiming he wanted to get the most out of the experience. Technically he had to learn how to play instruments before he could be an active member, but he called it a work in progress. 

Amelia's school experience wasn't as much fun. No one really wanted to be friends with the loner who hadn't known what a smartboard was two years earlier. Her explanation that there was no electronics where she came from just made her more of an outcast. She heard the whispers. She grew up in a cult, or an Amish community. Her personal favourite was that she was an alien in disguise. She didn't care much. She was perfectly fine on her own. 

"What's that?" Peter asked, slipping into her room. She looked up from the device she was putting together. She shrugged.

"Nothing. What do you want?"

"Does it fly?" He looked interested and she nodded, setting the small object on the table. It began to whir before hovering in the air and moving in a circular motion around the room without bumping into anything. "How are you doing that?"

"Inputted the measurements of the room, added codes for to make sure it doesn't bump into the furniture."

"You're really good at this stuff." He said. "Seriously." Amelia caught the object as it flew above her head, turning it off.

"What are you doing in here?" He shrugged.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You've been quiet lately." She raised a brow. "More quiet than normal."

"I'm fine, Pete." She huffed.

"Yeah?"

"I got chemistry homework I don't understand. Do it for me and I'll be totally okay." He scoffed.

"If I do it for you, then you'll never understand."

"I don't care about understanding it. I'm never going to use chemistry. I suck at it."

"Let me help you. We'll work through it together."

"What'd you want?"

"That." He pointed at the small object. She sighed but chucked it at him. 

"Just make sure you change the settings before letting it loose." He grinned and nodded, pocketing it before moving to sit beside her.

"Let's see your homework."

As time passed, Amelia got more and more comfortable with her aunt and uncle. Peter was just as annoying as a real brother, but she had to admit he had his moments. Still, she never got rid of the piece of paper she used to add up the expenses May and Ben spent on her. She would pay them back one day. They deserved the best.

"Pete, dinner's ready!" She called, switching off the stove. 

"Coming!" He called back, before coming out of his room. "Where's May?"

"You seriously forgot?" She asked. "Date night with uncle Ben."

"Oh, yeah." He began setting the table.

"Alright, tomorrow, breakfast's on you."

"I've been making breakfast for weeks, when will you teach me lunch?"

"When you learn that meat needs to defrost when you take it out of the freezer and that microwaving won't make the process go any faster."

"Makes no sense." He grumbled.

"First you master breakfast. Just 'cos there's no shells in the omelettes anymore, doesn't mean you're a pro."

"Yeah, yeah. You meeting me at Oscorp after school tomorrow?"

"No, I made plans with my friends."

"What friends?"

"Like you can talk. You have a grand total of one friend." He stuck out his tongue. "Just as long as you haven't forgotten to clear with your teacher, I'll meet you at Oscorp and we can go home together."

"Mr Cobbwell knows and I already gave him aunt May's slip."

"Cool, I get out of class at quarter past three, so I'll make my way. It's a ten minute walk."

"And I'll be out at half three, so it should coincide."

"Great. We've got to get the pictures for the album."

"The anniversary's not for another week. Why the rush?"

"Because we still need to put the pictures in an order that makes sense and you, sir, procrastinate a lot."

"Yeah, yeah. whatever."

The next day, when Amelia got out of class (at three pm, not quarter past like she'd told Peter) she made her way out of the school.

"Hey, Amy." Shawn Roy walked over with his friends, slinging an arm around her.

"It's Amelia." She muttered, but didn't attempt to move his arm off her. She'd learnt from that mistake.

"Sorry, Mia?" He laughed and she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?" He repeated before addressing his friends. "I don't know boys, what do I want?"

"Seriously, how bored do you have to be in high school to bully a girl?"

"You growing balls, Mia?"

"Someone has to, since you clearly don't have any." He needed to hurry up and leave her alone. She really had to start walking to Oscorp.

"You should watch that mouth of yours, Mia." He said, moving closer to whisper in her ear. "Never know what trouble it can get you in." She didn't say anything, just glared harder, waiting for him to leave. That was the good thing about Shawn, he was always all talk. He did let go and walk away and she hurried towards the Oscorp building.

Amelia got to Oscorp three minutes to half past and waited outside the front entrance. She saw Peter's class come out and caught sight of Ned and Peter, the latter looking pale and sickly.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked Ned, who was half carrying her cousin.

"He's feeling a little sick." He shrugged. Amelia put the back of her hand on Peter's forehead. 

"I'm not taking him on the subway like that."

"What are you going to do?"

"Don't have much of a choice, gonna have to get an uber."

"Have him text me when he's better." Ned said and Amelia nodded, peeling Peter off Ned and dragging him to a bench.

"I'm calling an uber. Don't throw up." She instructed and Peter moaned in reply. She got out her phone, calling a ride. "Oh, there's one nearby. Two minutes out." 

Amelia stood in front of the door to their apartment. She was supporting Peter with one hand and holding his bag as well as her own with her other. Neither May nor Ben were home so she was somehow going to have to reach for her keys.

"Petey, I really need you to work with me here. I'm gonna prop you against the wall. Stay, okay?" He groaned and she took that as confirmation. She put him up against the wall and he began to droop. She caught him before he fell. "Peter, come on. I just need you to stand up against the wall for a second. The floor's gross." He didn't answer and she groaned. She banged slightly against the door as she adjusted him, only for the door to creak open. "Um, did I leave the door open this morning? Oh, shit. Did we get robbed?" She pushed the door open and looked around the apartment only to see the apartment was totally okay. She let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, let's not tell aunt May or uncle Ben I forgot to lock the door this morning. Consider it payback for practically carrying you."


	6. 6

Amelia was getting more and more worried about Peter. She'd given him Tylenol and waited for his fever to subside. It didn't. It was at 107 degrees and May wasn't home yet. Amelia knew from aunt May that fevers generally ebbed away on their own, so there was no point in a hospital. Still, she couldn't do nothing. Ice baths were a bad idea. Grabbing a couple of cold packs, she returned to Peter.

"Aunt May's covering for someone so she won't be home till tonight either. It's just you and me, dude. You cannot die on my watch, so get better. Deal?" She said, placing the pack under his armpits. He shivered and tried to move away from it. "Peter, we need to reduce your fever. You're way too high." He blinked up, seemingly waking up.

"Amelia?"

"Yeah, hi."

"I'm cold." He said. 

"Yeah, I know. You got a fever. You just think you're cold but you're really really warm. Cold packs stay until you get a little cooler."

"May?" He asked.

"She's at work. Won't be back for a while." Amelia stood. "I'm going to get you some more water."

By the time Ben got home, Peter's temperature seemed to be going down.

"How's he doing?" Ben asked, peeking through. Amelia had dragged an armchair from the living room and set it up beside Peter's bed.

"Better, I think." She whispered. "He refused to eat, but I gave him a lot of water. He's been in and out of sleep for the past.." Amelia looked at her phone. "Four hours."

"Did you eat anything?" Ben asked.

"Me?"

"I'll order some pizza, okay?" Amelia nodded.

"Sure." She turned back to Peter. Ben softly smiled at the sight before leaving the room. She shook Peter awake softly. He grumbled as she continued until he woke up. He looked blearily at her. "Time for some medicine." He let her prop him up, and drank some water before taking two pills. "You're really out of it right now, aren't you?" She asked and he nodded. "It'd be way too easy to make fun of you right now, but lucky for you I'm nice. Plus you kind of look like a wounded puppy." She said.

"I'm a wounded puppy." He agreed, and she laughed.

"Okay, let's check your temperature." She said before picking up the digital thermometer. She put it in his ear and waited for the beep. "103, that's better than before. Want to take a bath? Uncle Ben'll have to keep an eye on you so you don't drown, but it might help." Peter seemed to wake up and looked at her urgently.

"I'm going to throw up." He said before gagging. Amelia grabbed a bucket she'd been keeping and got it under his face in time. He took hold of the bucket and hugged it tight.

"Okay, sit and stay like that. I'm going to get you some more water, deal? Do not move the bucket." He nodded and she left the room.

Peter was ill for the next few days, though his fever subsided after the second. Eventually he was back to his old self, as though nothing had happened.

"I think I preferred it when you were sick." Amelia groaned as Peter practically bounced around the room.

"Be nice to Peter." Ben told her off. "And Peter sit down, you'll make yourself throw up."

"How much sugar did you have?" She asked Peter as his leg began bouncing to make up for his lack of movement.

"None, I swear."

"Liar." 

"I haven't, I swear." She rolled her eyes.

"You should go for a run around the block. Maybe it'll tire you out."

"It's way too late to go out for a run on your own." Ben denied.

"Amelia could come with me."

"What am I supposed to do if we come up against muggers with weapons?"

"We'll leave all our stuff here."

"Uh huh. And when they luck out, you think they'll walk away reasonably?"

"You just don't want to go for a run." Amelia smiled at him sweetly. 

"Neither of you are going out at this time. Not alone, and not together." May said. Peter deflated. His leg continued jiggling and Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Do some exercise." She suggested. "Why don't you learn how to do push ups?"

"I know you're teasing, but that sounds like a good idea." He said, jumping up and rushing to his room. Amelia looked at Ben and May, slightly concerned.

"That's not Peter. Somehow he got replaced with an imposter. That's the only explanation. Have you ever seen him willingly do anything more than run to the subway to avoid being late. And that's to avoid detentions, not because of the endorphins rush."

"He's growing, and changing."

"I don't want to hear this." She smacked her hands over her ears, and the adults laughed. "By the way, Mr Delmar asked if I could stay late to help close up tomorrow. So I'm probably going to be there till eleven."

"I'll swing by to pick you up, after." Ben offered. "I don't want you walking the streets so late on your own."

"Okay."

"This is a big step. When I was fifteen, the most my parents trusted me to do was my own laundry. You're trusted with a whole sandwich shop."

"I'm still going to be with Isabela and Micky." Isabela and Micky were Mr Delmar's children.

"Micky? Isn't he at college?"

"He's coming back tomorrow and staying for the weekend." Amelia shrugged.

"Alright, be careful." May said, gently patting Amelia's head as she stood up.


	7. 7

Amelia was excited to be left half in charge of the deli. Isabela was on her break and Micky had gone upstairs so for the next few minutes, technically she, alone, was in charge. Which was still pretty awesome. 

"Hi, how can we help-" She started, hearing the bell jingle only to break off as she saw who was in front of her. "You look lost. This is a muggle American establishment."

"Amelia, I presume?"

"Either order something or leave. Or I can just call the cops." The old man looked more amused than threatened. He looked up at the menu board. 

"I'd like a number two, please." He said.

"That'll be twelve dollars and twenty nine cents. We only take American dollars." He took out a wallet and a fifty dollar bill. 

"Keep the change."

"I don't need your charity." She said, returning the thirty seven dollars and seventy one cents.

"I insist." He said, and added it to the tip jar. She glared before turning away. 

"Micky, get down here! We got a customer." There was a thundering on the steps and he appeared. "Number two."

"Got it." Micky said, and headed into the kitchen.

"That'll be five minutes."

"I can wait." The scowl on her face deepened.

"Okay, what are you doing here? Don't you have a boarding school to run in England? Unless something's changed, isn't it still term time? And I'm pretty sure that absolutely nothing has changed considering Hogwarts has been the same for the past thousand years."

"Sometimes witches and wizards develop their magic later than usual."

"I assure you, I'm as muggle as they come. I'm nothing like your kind." 

"My kind?"

"Yes, your kind. I'm normal, and I'm happy being normal, so whatever you might think- you're wrong."

"Having magic doesn't make you any less normal." Amelia scoffed.

"Of course not. It's the not having magic that makes you a freak, right? Maybe that's what it's like for you and the rest of the wizarding community in England, but here it makes me normal and I'd rather be me and normal than like you and strange." She said.

"Someone cast an unlocking charm in your flat last week."

"It's an apartment, and you're mistaken. None of us can do magic. So whatever you think you know- you don't know anything. You're wrong." She said, furiously. Micky came out of the kitchen with the sandwich and she put it in a bag, holding it out to Dumbledore. "Please leave and never come back."

"I understand." Dumbledore said, and left. Micky whistled under his breath.

"That was cold, even for you. Was he being a creep?"

"He just- He knows my parents."

"Aren't your parents dead?"

"No. They're alive and happy and living in England."

"So why are you living with Ben?"

"Because they didn't want me and just sent me off as far away as they could." She answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, wow." He frowned. "They sound like a pair of dickbags." Amelia laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So what did the old creepo want?"

"Who knows?" She huffed. "I should call uncle Ben. Man the till for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, go make your call." He said and she nodded, before heading out of the shop and standing outside. Ben answered almost immediately.

"Hey, everything okay?"

"Um, not really. Dumbledore was here."

"Dumbledore? Albus Dumbledore? The headmaster?"

"Yeah. Showed up out of the blue. He said someone used an unlocking charm in our apartment last week. I told him he was mistaken."

"That's definitely weird. How are you?"

"It was a bit of a shock. I never really expected to see him in real life."

"How did you recognise him?"

"I ate a lot of chocolate frogs as a kid." She said. Ben laughed softly over the line.

"Oh, man. I forgot about those."

"They were my favourite."

"Mine too." He agreed. "Do you want me to come pick you up now?"

"No, I'll be fine. He's gone now. I'll just see you later."

"Alright, kid. Stay safe, and if you need me to come I'll be right over."

"I know, thanks." She said, before hanging up. She walked back into the shop.

"You good?" Micky asked and she nodded.

"Yeah."

"On the plus side, you were kind of polite, even as you basically kicked him out. For someone you hate, at least. Is that a British thing?"

"No, it's a let's not antagonise our customers thing." Isabela returned just as Amelia got situated behind the till again. 

"I'm tired. Can't we just close early and tell Papi we were here till ten?" She asked. "No one in their right mind would come this late."

"It's only eight." Micky said. Isabela let out a long suffering sigh. Amelia grinned. Isabela was the closest thing she had to a friend. 

Ben came over at quarter to ten and waited until closing. Micky was at the bank across the street depositing the till money, while the girls checked the inventory, taking stock for the next day. By the time they were all ready to go, it was half ten and Ben insisted on driving Micky and Isabela to their home a couple blocks away, despite their protest that they would be fine.

As soon as Ben dropped them off, he turned to Amelia with a serious expression on his face. She wasn't really used to him being serious, he was more of a joker.

"This is about Dumbledore, isn't it?" She asked. He nodded. "I don't know what he was talking about, I swear. I'm like you, I promise. I'm not like them. I'm really not. There's no magic in me. I'm _normal_."

"Hey, don't worry, alright. No matter what, I love you. Magic or no magic. Nothing will ever change that."

"I don't have magic." She insisted. "I would notice if I did, but I don't. Molly and Arthur tried every test they could to try to evoke even a sliver. I don't have any magic in me."

"And that's perfectly okay. It's also alright if you did. I'm not saying you do, I'm just saying you and I are family. And whether or not you have magic, I will always love you. You're always going to be Amelia to me. Alright?"

"Okay." She said, slightly calmer.

"And if Dumbledore comes around again, you get away from him as quick as you can and you call me." She nodded. "I'll drive you to and from school for the next week in case he comes around, alright?"

"You don't have to. I can hardly see him taking the subway."

"Let me do it for my own peace of mind. He found you at Delmar's, he could probably find you at your school." 

"Okay." She said.

"Great. We'll get some ice cream after school."

"I'm not five."

"Neither am I. I just want ice cream." She shook her head.

"Fine." She gave in.


	8. 8

Peter had definitely been acting strange for weeks. He'd stopped taking the subway to school, and instead decided to run there [which was odd in itself because it would be a forty minute run. The most Amelia had ever seen him run was for a minute before he began breathing hard. Plus he had asthma. Key word being had]. He was somehow miraculously cured of his it, and his really bad eyesight. He was also sneaking out at night, and neither Ben or May seemed to pick up on it. So Amelia took it upon herself to figure out what the hell was wrong with him.

"Spill." She said, cornering him in his room, one day after school.

"Spill what?" He asked, innocently.

"You're not as sneaky as you think. Honestly, I just think uncle Ben and aunt May are just too tired to realise you've been leaving at night."

"Who, me?"

"You know, your voice gets a little high when you get defensive."

"Does not!" He said, his voice higher than usual, before blushing defensively.

"Thank you, for proving my point."

"I haven't been up to anything."

"So what have you been doing?"

"Nothing."

"Right, because people go to junkyards in the middle of the night to do nothing."

"You followed me? Wait, how?"

"Tracker on your hoodie." He walked over to his jumper and pulled out a small bug. "You were my beta. I needed to see if it worked."

"You made this?" He asked analysing it and she nodded.

"Got bored in shop. So what were you doing in a junkyard at one a.m.?" He huffed.

"Fine, but you cannot tell anyone. I'm serious." He said, solemnly.

"If it's a girlfriend and you're taking her to a junkyard- that could actually be pretty cool. So many unwanted materials to be harvested."

"What? No!" He looked confused and weirded out. "I have powers." Amelia's jaw dropped. Mistaking her horrified surprise as disbelief, Peter went on to prove it. "Look." He walked over to the wall, and placed a hand on it, then his other. Before she knew it, Peter was crawling vertically on the wall until he reached the ceiling. He didn't stop until he was almost directly above her. He continued to get comfortable until he was standing upside down.

"Oh, shit." She huffed. "Peter, get down. Please." He jumped off the ceiling and she stepped back. "Oh god, no. No no no."

"I've been going to the junkyard because I've got enhanced strength and I'm trying to control it."

"Just stop for a second, Pete." She said, turning away.

"Everything okay."

"This is why you were sick, wasn't it? You were really sick after your trip from Oscorp. Your... powers manifested to protect you."

"No, I was bitten by a radioactive spider at Oscorp. That's why I got sick. It was restructuring my DNA and giving me these powers."

"That's good, then." She turned back to face him. "There has to be a way to get rid of it."

"Get rid of it?" He asked. "Why would I get rid of it? This is one of the coolest things to happen to me."

"And the most dangerous, Pete. We don't know what other lasting effects a radioactive spider bite could have on you. What if it kills you or what if you're radioactive now? Or even if everything is fine and the powers are your only side effects, what if someone finds out and takes you away?"

"Who's going to find out?"

"People!" She said. "I mean, you see how mutants get treated."

"What I see is that you're pissed because I have powers and that you don't. I know you hate mutants and mutates, which is what I am by the way. I shouldn't have told you. You could never understand."

"I don't hate mutants or mutates."

"Just go away, Amelia. Wouldn't want you to have to spend any longer with someone with powers." Amelia's face crumbled and she left the room, heading straight out of the apartment.

"Hey, hey. Where are you going?" Ben asked, as she opened the door.

"Out." She said. Taking whatever was cooking off the stove, Ben followed her out.

"Amelia? Wait up." He jogged after her and she continued walking. He eventually caught up to her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"What do you think of mutants?"

"I think they're descendants of wizards who lack the magical strength to be a full blown wizard but still has enough magical reserve in their core to be more than a squib."

"I think I've been so mad at magic in general for tossing us aside that I might have come across a little hateful to mutants."

"You're not hateful."

"Peter thinks I am. We had an argument about mutants. He thinks I hate them all, but I don't. I admit, I'm a little wary when it comes to them, but I just don't want to be reminded that I'm not enough. Every time I wake up and I look in the mirror, I just see Molly and I know she's the one who shoved me away and that I have nothing to be ashamed of. But I hate it, and I hate the reminder every single day that I'm worth less to all of them because I don't have magic."

"Oh, Amelia." He put an arm around her shoulder, bringing her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. "You are not worth less. You're incredible, and Molly and Arthur are the ones who have to live without you. They're the ones who're undeserving of you, and they're the ones who aren't worth all your pain and your tears." 

"Maybe, but I'm still extremely biased towards anyone who has extra powers, and that makes me like them. That is the one thing I have never wanted to share with them."

"Do you hate mutants?" He asked.

"Of course not."

"And say, I developed mutant powers. Would you hate me and push me away?"

"No."

"You're nothing like you're parents. Having a few reservations doesn't mean you're like your parents. It just means you're human. It means you have something to work towards but it doesn't make you a bad person. You've had bad experiences with people who have powers, and whatever bias you have is your way of protecting yourself."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." He said. "And as for seeing your mother anytime you look into a mirror, what if we changed that?"

"How?"

"Welcome to the wonderful world of muggle inventions. You don't need a potion to change your hair colour. You just need a good salon. I know May always feels more like herself when she gets a hairdo."


	9. 9

Amelia avoided Peter for a few days. She knew it wasn't fair to him, but she had to work through her problem with magic and make sure she never made him feel like the way her family made her feel. Ben was sympathetic to her. He knew what she was going through- he'd gone through it all himself, he said. (She couldn't ever imagine Ben being a bundle of anger and hatred and uncertainty and a lot of emotions she couldn't name.)

She was in the midst on working on a computer she'd begun to build, when Ben knocked on her door.

"Come in." She called. He walked in holding a box.

"Got you something." He said and she frowned.

"It's not my birthday, is it?"

"No, not for some months. Are you okay?" He looked concerned. She shrugged. He held out the box and she got a good look at them.

"Chocolate frogs." Her eyes lit up. "You didn't have to."

"I missed them too, so I owl ordered a whole box. Feel like sharing?" She grinned and opened the box, grabbing two. She handed Ben one and opened hers, making sure to keep hold of it's legs. Aiming it at her mouth, she let go of it so it jumped straight into her open mouth. "Neat trick. I always had to chase mine across the room before I could eat it. Rick used to joke I'd earned the carbs."

"Bill taught me. He said it was all about the angle."

"Huh, I'll have to give that a go." He said, before opening his own wrapper and attempting to copy her previous action. He was a little off, though, so the chocolate frog ended up jumping onto his nose and Amelia giggled.

"Here." She unwrapped another frog, keeping her grip on it's feet. "Open wide." She told him and he complied. Making sure her hand was slightly lower than his mouth she let go and it flew directly into Ben's mouth. He closed his mouth almost instantly and let out kind of a cheer.

"You're going to have to teach me that." He said, seriously and she grinned.

"Of course." She looked at her card. "I got Hesper Starkey."

"I have Mungo Bonham and Gulliver Pokeby."

"I hope we never get Dumbledore." She said moving to get another.

"Wait, don't have more now. Dinner's soon, and you shouldn't spoil your appetite." He said. "Yeah, that sounds right."

"Definitely authoritative." She agreed. "Uncle Ben, I think we need to tell Peter about magic." She said.

"Statute of Secrecy, remember?"

"Doesn't extend to family. And his father was a squib. And I think I want him to understand."

"Are you sure?"

"I think it's time we told him, and aunt May. They're our family. And if Dumbledore comes around again, they should be prepared." Ben nodded.

"Alright, at dinner?"

"Yeah."

Dinner came entirely too soon. Amelia was too nervous to sit still and resorted to drumming her fingers on her knee. Peter ignored her, completely. May and Ben were being cute and disgusting. By the time they'd all finished their pizza, Peter stood to get out of the room.

"Wait, Pete. Come back a second please." Ben said.

"I got Calculus homework." He said.

"It won't take long."

"Might take a little while." Amelia muttered and Ben sent her a look. Peter rolled his eyes, but sat back down.

"What's all this?" May asked.

"I haven't always been entirely truthful with you about my life." Peter looked interested and worried.

"Ben..?"

"You know Rick and I were born and raised in England, right?" May and Peter nodded. "Well, we were born into a community of magic. Our family for generations have been witches and wizards."

"But every so often, in a family of magic, there'll be a child who doesn't have magic. These people are called squibs." Amelia continued.

"You mean you were born into a community of mutants?" May asked.

"No, mutants have specific powers. They can only do the one thing. Witches and wizards can do a lot of spells and make a lot of potions. They're infinitely more powerful than mutants."

"You're not messing with us, are you?" May looked pale. 

"No. When witches and wizards turn eleven, they're admitted to a magic school."

"That's the school you didn't get into." May said, looking at Amelia who nodded. "That's why your mother brought you here to us."

"Yeah."

"That's why you hate mutants so much. They remind you of magic." Peter, who had been strangely silent, spoke up. 

"I don't hate mutants. I really don't." She said. "I've been kind of wary, but I don't hate them." He nodded slowly. "There are wizarding communities all over the world. Even here in America, but there's a Statute of secrecy that stops us from telling muggles or no-majes. People who haven't got magic."

"Rick and I were squibs, and our family weren't the best at handling it, so when he was old enough to move away he came to the states, and I tagged along with him."

"Two decades later, I turned out a squib and my parents decided not to even try and sent me here to live with you guys."

"Until last month, when the headmaster of the magic school visited Amelia at work."

"What?" May looked immediately concerned. "What did he want?" 

"He said they detected a magic unlocking spell in our apartment and thought my magic had manifested late." She said. "It was clearly a mistake because I'm sure we'd have noticed if one of us had magic." 

"An unlocking spell." She breathed out. "Why not?"

"May?" Ben asked his wife.

Okay, maybe we should continue this some other time. I guess it's a lot to think on." Amelia said. Ben nodded. Gesturing for Peter to follow her, Amelia quickly slipped out of the room and headed to her own room.

"So you don't hate me?" Peter asked.

"Of course not. Just let me explain." He nodded.


	10. 10

Peter stood near the door, with some space between him and Amelia.

"I don't hate you, Pete. I really don't. You and I- we're family. And not the kind of family I was raised in. A better one. I love you, and before we get into anything, I need you to know that. Powers or no powers, magic or no magic, I do not hate you or anything about you. Except for the fact that you're abysmal in the kitchen, no matter how long I train you. But that's basically it." She said.

"When I told you my powers came from a spider, you wanted to get rid of it. Even if you don't hate me, you hate my powers, and they're a part of me."

"What? No." She sighed. "Definitely not. That's not what it was. It's just, and I know excuses probably don't mean much but I really want to explain this properly. You know how the headmaster basically came to Delmar's randomly?" He nodded. "It was a week after your trip to Oscorp. He said an unlocking spell was detected in our apartment. You were totally out of it, but I was having trouble trying to get you into the apartment. Then the door turned out to be open, and I thought I must have forgotten to lock the door that morning. But when you told me, I guess I figured in your delirious state, magic must have been trying to help you. It's probably why you survived the bite, and maybe how we got into the house. And maybe you just haven't noticed the odd accidental magic you might be doing because it's probably something you've written off as your spider powers. And accidental magic, when not properly harnessed, gets more and more prominent. I was scared Dumbledore would come back but this time he'd come for you and take you away to Hogwarts." Peter snickered.

"Hogwarts."

"Yeah, that's the name of the magic school in England. There's one in America too, but I thought you might like to go to one where you wouldn't be totally alone."

"You're an idiot." He walked over and sat beside her. "I wouldn't leave you. Magic or powers or nothing. Aright? I know your family were total jerks, but we're not like that. I'm never choosing magic over you. If the door teacher guy comes, we'll send him packing."

"But you need to train your magic if you have it."

"Then we'll somehow figure it out. I haven't noticed anything, but if I do, I promise I'm not going anywhere, and I'm definitely not going to school in England with your siblings. I got you and Uncle Ben and Aunt May. That's all I need."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Now will you stop acting so dumb and realise that you're as much a part of this family as I am?"

"What?"

"I'm the smart one, remember. I know things. You're always acting like you're afraid May and Ben will send you back."

"No I'm not." He raised his brows and walked over to her desk and picked up her notepad. "Put that down."

"I know what's in here already." He said, and opened it, showing her a countless list of numbers. "Burn this, and I'll believe you know May and Ben love you unconditionally."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you've written down every expense May and Ben have made for you. And I know you think you need to pay them back whenever you can to as compensation or something."

"No I don't. Hey, do you want magic chocolate?" She asked attempting to distract him. He gave her a look. "Drop the subject and you get actual magic candy. Continue and I will never share anything magic with you again."

"We'll come back to it some other time." He said finally setting the notebook back down, his curiosity winning out. She took a chocolate frog and handed it. "It's just candy." He said.

"You gotta open it, dork." He looked sceptical but unwrapped it. He flinched as the frog jumped away, but somehow quickly caught it. "Oh, good reflexes."

"Spider powers." He said. "I definitely believe in magic now."

"You didn't before?"

"I did, but this makes it real. And it is so cool!" He said, before glancing at her. "I mean, not as cool as normal science. Magic is just science not yet understood."

"You can find it cool." She said. "It is. I always loved chocolate frogs. Haven't had them since I left England."

"Really?"

"Uncle Ben and I were talking about it the other day. And he ordered it for me. They were my favourite."

"I guess there must have been a lot of things you were used to that you had to leave behind. That must have been terrifying." He frowned. "Plunging straight into a world with no magic."

"I got used to it."

"Your parents were jerks." He said.

"Yeah, I'm over it now." She said.

"I know it's some kind of lifeline for you- your notebook. But you don't need it."

"I gave you candy. You're supposed to let it go."

"I will, I just wanted to say that." He told her. She rolled her eyes. "Do you wanna tell me more about growing up with magic all around you?"

"Sure." She laughed. "Well, I came from a pureblood family. That means my parents and my grandparents and great grandparents and so on were all witches and wizards-"


	11. 11

Ben's death came as a total surprise to them all. Feeling like he might have been neglecting Peter slightly, he decided they needed some time together just the two of them. This left May and Amelia alone which was just as well, according to May who said they never really spent much time together alone either.

Amelia didn't know what happened. One moment, she and May were baking cupcakes in the kitchen (well, Amelia was while May provided entertainment in the form of dancing and singing and attempting to distract Amelia from whatever step she was on for the fun of it) and the next, the doorbell rang. Letting Amelia get the cupcakes out of the oven, May went to go answer her door. Amelia could pinpoint the moment their world broke apart. She'd turned off the oven and followed after May, ready to tease Ben and Peter for having both forgotten their keys, only to be met with the picture of two cops with a blood-soaked Peter between them. She'd tried to rationalise it. It wasn't blood, they went paintballing without protective gear, or they'd run into trouble and Ben was helping someone who was hurt while Peter was escorted home. Or maybe even Ben was hurt but he was in the hospital ready to make a full recovery. Millions of scenarios ran through her head, but neither truly fit. Peter couldn't stop crying, and the cops were here in their home, and there was too much blood on Peter for anyone to have survived the blood loss.

For days after, they all retreated to their separate rooms. May was too distraught to do anything, except go to work and sleep. She was starting to look like a zombie. Amelia didn't know what Peter was up to except that he spent a lot more time at school after hours, and snuck out and stayed out almost all night. And she was left to keep them alive. She'd go into the kitchen and leave food for them on a plate. She'd wash up, do the laundry, make sure they survived. It wasn't until almost a full week earlier that she remembered she had to make some calls, and write a few letters. One day, after school she made her way to Scourson's Mall, the American version of Diagon Alley. She first went to the bank, exchanging some dollars into Dragots, before heading to the post office and buying parchment. Using the quill they had readily available, she scratched out a notice to her parents, informing her of Ben's death. Renting an owl, she sent off the letter and got out of the world of magic. Finding her way around the underground mall took a lot longer than she'd anticipated and was half an hour late to work.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologised to Mr Delmar. "I lost track of time and was in a no-signal area."

"Don't worry about it." He said. "How are you doing?"

"I'd be a lot better if I could just dive into work. I'm on kitchen duty today?"

"If you need more time off, you can always tell me." He told her.

"I'm fine." She said. "I just really don't want to think about it."

"Okay." He told her. "Kitchen's all yours."

"Thanks." She closed her hair up in a bun and put on the apron before washing her hands and preparing a fresh batch of bread.

The sun shone especially bright on the day on Ben's funeral. Amelia glared at the offensive light, before focusing back on the turnout. It seemed like the entirety of New York had come, which was comforting. Her parents didn't come but that was to be expected. Amelia stood strong as countless well-wishers offered their condolences, before moving on. 

"I didn't know him, but it looks like he was a really good man." A voice she hadn't heard in years said. She glared up at her eldest brother.

"William." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Mum wrote to me. Told me what happened."

"And what? She couldn't bother to come herself? He was her brother." Her glare intensified, before she looked around. Leaning over to Peter, she whispered, "I'll be back in a bit." He nodded, and she dragged Bill away from the crowd. "You don't have to feel obligated to come. Like you said, you didn't know him."

"I came here for you." He said. "My little sister lost someone close to her."

"You can't pull that card. Where were you when mum and dad decided to ship me away to the states? Where were you when they as good as told me I had no place in that family because I had no magic. Where were you when I wrote to you for weeks only to receive no reply whatsoever? I'd like you to leave. This is a time for family and friends. You aren't either."

"What's going to happen to you?" He asked.

"What do you mean what's going to happen to me?"

"Where are you staying?"

"At home." She said. "Where else?"

"I was under the impression under eighteens are minors? You can't live alone."

"I'm not alone. I've got aunt May and Peter. And even if I didn't, I'd never consider going anywhere with you. Now I'm going to go back in for my uncle's funeral and say a final goodbye to one of the only family members I had. You did not know him and you don't know me. You don't get to be here while we mourn the life of an exceptional man. Goodbye, William." She turned on her heels and walked away.

"Who was that?" Peter whispered when she got back.

"Eldest brother." She told him. "He's leaving, don't worry."

"You sent him away."

"It's a time for family and friends. He chose to be neither a long time ago. Drop it, Pete." Peter nodded.


	12. 12

Amelia had a sneaky suspicion she knew what Peter was up to. It wasn't until she waited for him in his room one night and saw him sneak back in in his red and blue hoodie and shirt that she confronted him.

"What is wrong with you?" She said. "Going out every night? You're that new vigilante guy. Kid."

"I-"

"Seriously? Uncle Ben died not-"

"That's the thing. He died. You weren't there, but I was. He got hurt and I could have helped but I didn't."

"You're thirteen. Uncle Ben took an oath to protect the city, so he had to do something. You are a kid who doesn't even know how to properly control your powers. You couldn't do anything. It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe." He said. "But I can help other people. I can stop bad guys before they hurt another family like the guy did ours. If I don't then all those people who get hurt? Their blood is on my hands."

"No it is not. If everyone went around playing hero, we'd have a lot more good people dead. Peter you can't put all that on yourself."

"I'm doing this, Amelia. If I have the ability to protect and help people, then I will."

"God, you sound exactly like him." She huffed. "All that 'with great power comes great responsibility' nonsense."

"It's not nonsense."

"You're really not going to stop, are you?" Peter shook his head. "I don't think Aunt May and I can survive if you get hurt. We're barely functioning after Uncle Ben."

"I'm not going anywhere dangerous. It's little stuff. Protecting the people of Queens. I'm not diving headfirst into world issues. That's what the avengers are for." He said.

"There will be rules." She said. "Number one, aunt May cannot know. Not right now, maybe later once things calm down."

"Done."

"Number two, you will adhere to a curfew. You still have school, and you are not slacking. Back home by midnight, every night."

"But that's when the bad stuff happens."

"Too bad. You're thirteen. You've got homework and school." He sighed. "We can negotiate weekends."

"Fine."

"Number three, I will build us a pair of comms. You will not go out without me in your ear. And we've got to make you something better than that hoodie. You'll scare the people you're trying to help. I'll work on something in Home Ec." She told him. He nodded.

"Got it."

"You can't exactly walk around on the streets. And you're way too young to drive. Bikes are too slow, I think, and identifiable. You need a way to get around."

"I've been thinking about that, actually." He pulled a box from under his bed and opened it to show her. "It's my dad's research. He was a biochemist and he was working on a way to synthesise artificial spider webs. Figured it'd work well with the whole bitten by a spider thing. These formulas aren't finished and most of the ingredients are medical grade, so I'll have to tweak it a bit. I'll find a way to substitute what we've got in the chem labs at school and try to finish the formula. I think I can do it."

"Until we've got everything together, you do not go out as wonder spider." She said. "Okay?"

"Alright." He said.

"Promise?" She asked.

"I promise."

"I'll start designing you a costume. I'm guessing red and blue is your thing?"

"Reminds me of Ben's sirens. He used to light them up sometimes when I got scared. He said the red and blue colours meant I was safe. It meant there were police working tirelessly to keep us protected." Amelia smiled.

"Alright, I got it. I'll draw up some sketches and you can pick which you'd like."

"Thanks." He smiled.

It didn't work for long. A week later, Peter had managed to finish his father's research and substitute more easily accessible chemicals in the formula.

"Making me a suit's going to take forever." He frowned. "Is it supposed to take this long?"

"You'll be encountering mugger and people who have dangerous weapons. You'll need something to protect you. And I'm working on a budget, so it's going to take a little while."

"Can't I continue in my hoodie until the suit's ready?" She glared at him. "I'll be fine. I have super healing, anyways."

"How do you know that? And, Peter be careful how you answer, because if you got hurt and you didn't tell me-"

"Amelia, chill. I was in the kitchen and accidentally cut myself a little and it healed instantly. Relax."

"Sorry if my cousin wanting to go out into dangerous situations stresses me out." He rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can go out in your onesie, but you're on comms at all times, and you keep a tracker on you. How are you planning to use your webs." He took out a cylindrical container.

"I put them in here. And it shoots out web." She took the circular containers.

"Not bad. Let me just adjust..." She grabbed a flat screwdriver and tinkered a little. "Alright go practice. You start being wonder spider tomorrow night."

"What about tonight?"

"If you're going to use the webs to get across buildings, you need to be used to it first. You can't help anyone if you're too busy falling flat on your face." She told him. He grinned sheepishly. "Be careful and responsible. I don't care if you just can't help yourself. No superhero-ing whatsoever until you can handle yourself. Consider this training."

"I swear." He said solemnly and she grinned. 

"Alright then, fill it up with your web fluid and go."


	13. 13

Peter had decided on naming his alter ego Spider-Man, which was laughable considering he was a thirteen year old boy. Still, it seemed to work. At night she'd be his ears on the ground, talking him through situations, directing him around places he was unfamiliar. A few times, she'd had to direct him to a vet or a shelter. During the day, she'd work on his suit. Peter had given her some things to consider, like the sudden onslaught of his senses. Whether she should go for gloves or no gloves. How thick could she make his spider suit without nullifying his sticky power. She knew he had microscopic hair follicles (Peter said they were called setae?) that came out when he needed it, and retracted when he didn't in order to help him climb things, so she needed to account for that. And all of this had to be done on a budget. Peter's attempt at a suit was lousy, and designed more for anonymity than practicality.

It was months later when she finished. Amelia took the suit home with her, placing it on Peter's bed before rushing off to work. She didn't make it there. She wasn't too far out, when she'd noticed a wizard out of the corner of her eye following her. Attempting to brush it off, she continued, taking a little detour in case she was mistaken. It wasn't, so she tried to stay on the main road, hoping to stay in the public's eye. The man caught up to her at the traffic light, standing so close to her. As she attempted to take a step to the side, she realised there was another man behind her, his wand out for all to see. They each grabbed an arm, pinning her between them. She opened her mouth to yell and the man on her side laughed.

"You can scream as loud as you want. No one can hear you or see you." She still tried and struggled to get away, but they were right. The man to her right must have cast a spell with his wand because she was, for all intents and purposes, invisible to the world.

"I- who are you? Are you a mutant?" She tried to fake dumb. "What- what do you want with me?"

"We know exactly who you are, Weasley." She frowned. So that was a bust.

"Okay, but what do you want with me? I'm a squib. And if you want to use me against the Weasleys, I'm afraid you're about to be sorely disappointed. They don't care about me, and they certainly won't give you what you want."

"We're counting on it." The man to her right said. He let go of her, though Lefty kept his grip firm on her before disapparating.

When Peter got home, he'd suited up immediately before noticing the new costume on his bed. 

"No way!" He breathed out. "Sick." He took off the old one he wore and put on Amelia's improved version. "Officially the best person ever." Knowing Amelia was at work, he climbed out of his bedroom window to test the new suit.

After a few hours of whooping and swinging around, he headed home to put his Peter clothes back on before rushing out to go see Amelia.

"Hey, Mr Delmar." He greeted with a grin. "Can I get a number five, actually make that two number fives, extra pickles, squished down flat."

"You got it. How's Amelia?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She's sick, isn't she? I'm guessing, but she didn't come in today. No call, either, which is very unlike her."

"She's not home. I know she went home after school, but then she left. I figured to come to work. That's weird." Peter said, taking out his phone. Her phone went straight to voicemail. "It's off."

"Eh, she's a teenager, she's probably out with friends."

"She's not like that, and you know it." Peter said. "Something's wrong. I'm going to go see if I can find her."

"Peter, she'll probably be fine. Go home and see if she beats you there."

"Okay." He agreed reluctantly, before tracing Amelia's route back home, finding nothing. May was home, but no Amelia.

"Hey, Pete!" May said. "What do you think? Indian or Mexican?"

"Have you seen Amelia?" He asked.

"Today's Friday, isn't she at work?"

"No, I went by. Mr Delmar said she never showed up and she didn't give him a call, either."

"Huh." May walked over to her phone. "Have to say, never pegged Amelia for a rebellion."

"It's not a rebellion! I really think something's wrong. She came home, and left, presumably for work. She didn't show up and her phone's off. You know she wouldn't do that."

"You're right." May said. "Okay, you stay here in case she shows up, I'll go file a report at the station. I'm sure Grant'll help us." Grant was one of Ben's friends on the force.

"Thank you." Peter said and watched her grab her bag and leave. Peter went into his room looking to see if maybe Amelia might have left anything behind. Catching sight of his comms on his desk, he frantically grabbed at it, and put it in his ear. "Hello?" He tried, only to get back static and feedback before it went dead. "Great." He huffed and turned to his laptop. There was a prickly feeling on the back of his neck, like something was wrong. It had to be Amelia. He opened his laptop and began hacking into the CCTV footage, and followed Amelia's route to Delmar's at the approximate time of her travel. There was only a half hour difference between when she would have gotten home and when he had. He caught sight of her and followed her on the cameras, seeing her glance behind every few moments, before eventually turning around a block that would almost definitely have made her late. She emerged and was at a traffic light maybe three blocks from Delmar's when she disappeared. Peter replayed that last bit, but the result never changed. He checked to see if maybe the footage had been messed with but found nothing wrong. Just in case he sent a link to Ned asking him to check for any anomalies in the code. He immediately received a call.

"Dude, what the hell? Why are we hacking into CCTV cameras? This is kind of illegal."

"Just tell me if anyone's messed with the code." Ned sighed.

"Can't believe I'm doing this." He grumbled. "This is simultaneously the coolest and the scariest thing I've ever done." There was a few moments of keyboard clacking. "Nothing, it's all clean."

"Okay, thanks."

"Wait, why did I just do that?"

"Amelia's missing." He said. "I gotta go Ned, fill you in later." Peter hung up, before calling May.

"Hey, did she come home?"

"No, but I think it's got something to do with magic, aunt May."

"What makes you say that?"

"I hacked the CCTV-"

"Peter!"

"Yell at me later." He told her. "I managed to follow her for a few minutes, and then she disappeared. And no one on the street seemed to notice. It was like everyone turned away at that exact moment. And she kept looking behind her, like she was being followed. I checked the code, there's no anomalies and I searched the video and there's not even a sign of a glitch in the video. No one disappears like that. Not without magic or powers."

"Okay, stay home, just in case, and send me that video. I'm going to go find someone who can help us."

"What? How?"

"Don't worry. And if she comes home, give me a call."

"Yes, aunt May." 


	14. 14

"Seriously, what do you want from me?" Amelia glared at her captors. She was bound to a chair in a desolate room in what looked like a basement or a cellar.

"From you?" There was a dangerous looking woman in a pencil skirt and heels in front of her. "Just stress."

"Stress? Wh-what's that supposed to mean? I assure you, I am plenty stressed. I've been kidnapped and now I'm tied up in a room. I'm, like, the queen of stress right now, I promise. Now will you let me go?"'

"Let you go? No, I don't think we will." The woman nodded at one of the wizards who'd taken her- Righty- and he waved his wand. She began floating away from the chair and onto the floor.

"You were right. I wasn't stressed enough, but now I'm sitting on the floor which makes me extra uncomfortable and extra stressed, so you know. Mission accomplished." The woman gave her an unimpressed look and she sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think that was going to work either."

There was a clanking coming down the stairs as Righty banished her chair. "Be careful!" The woman hissed and the Lefty appeared, floating a rather large hub sort of object.

"Okay, seriously. I'm a squib. Whatever you want, I can't give it to you. And if this is a message to my parents, I guarantee they will not care."

"You're right, you are a message. But not to your family. They who would cast you out simply for not being a witch. What we want to do, is give you a chance to take your inheritance. You should have had magic, and we will make that possible for you."

Two days had passed without a word from Amelia. May had found her way to the Woolworth building in Manhattan and managed to get the attention of the department of Aurors. She'd been sent away and told that they'd return Amelia when she was found. Meanwhile, she insisted on taking Peter to and from school unless he could score a ride from Ned and his mother. Peter had less chances to go spider-man-ing, only getting to go when he claimed to be over at Ned's. During the night, May was prone to checking in on him, which meant his late night adventures were out of the question. Still he managed to find some time in his day to go. He'd pretend to stay late at the library, or suddenly have more meetings with the decathlon and robotics teams. Most of his time out as Spider-Man was spent searching all over Queens for Amelia. 

On the third day of the miserable cycle, there was a knock at the door. May was still at home so Peter opened it, hoping it might be Amelia. It wasn't.

"This the Parker residence?" The man asked and Peter narrowed his eyes. 

"You're the guy from Ben's funeral. Bill."

"Yes."

"Amelia's not here. She's been taken."

"Yes, we heard. My sister's been gone how long now?"

"Three days."

"How- who?"

"I don't know. Come in." Peter said, opening the door wider. "We don't really know much about magic and the aurors- I think that's what they're called- won't tell us much."

"They said you had proof she was taken by magic?" Peter nodded. 

"Yeah, wait here." He went to his room and picked up his laptop, opening it to the video. "Here's her leaving the apartment. This is her a block away, a lot more paranoid than when she left. Though it's not really paranoia since she was taken, I guess." Peter mused. "Anyways, there's no one really suspicious around her. It continues a little while, and she takes a turn here. I don't know, maybe to lose whoever she sees." Peter said. "And then here, she's at the traffic light, there's no one directly around her and she disappears. There are people in the street, across the road, in their cars, but they all seem to get distracted by something and she disappears."

"A notice me not charm, and a disillusionment charm." Bill said. "Do you think you'd be able to take me there?"

"Um, why?"

"To see if I can pick up on their magical signature."

"Wouldn't the aurors have done that?"

"It's something I've learnt in my field of work. I'm not an auror." Peter shrugged.

"I'd have to tell my aunt first."

Amelia was exhausted. After the somewhat coffin-shaped object was brought down, Alex was left alone for a day. The next day, they offered her food and water. She refused. They left. They did the same thing the next day. On the third day, she accepted the water, too weak to refuse. Then they offered her food. She refused. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of breaking her. They seemed too invested in getting her to eat. Not eating was kind of a win. 

On the fifth day, they got too impatient. "This is ridiculous. There are spells to force her to eat. Let me-"

"Just do it." The woman said and Lefty smirked and advanced on her. He took out his wand and she gave in.

"Okay, okay. Wait. I'll eat, I'll eat willingly. I swear." Lefty looked almost disappointed and Righty slid a tray of food in front of her. "Big Belly burger." She muttered. "Not as good as Delmar's number three, extra cheese, with some peanut butter."

"Eat." The woman ordered, and Amelia sighed. She took a bite, and before she knew it the bag was empty. "Now was that so hard?"


	15. 15

A week had passed before they did anything with the tank in the room. Amelia really had no idea what to call it. From what she could see if was something that could fit no more than one person. There were tubes connected to it, though they hadn't been attached until the sixth day. Okay, Amelia had ideas on what it could be. Considering all the information they'd provided, and the fact that she knew about the extremely antiquated wizard's rumour in which intense stress- say, fear for one's life- could manifest magic in squibs. She also knew it didn't work, it was just an old tradition that more often than not resulted in the death of the child. The lady had said she wanted to stress Amelia out, which kind of furthered her theory. 

"Comfortable?" The lady asked, walking back in.

"You're not a witch." She accused. "They usually use magic for every little thing. You're not."

"That's what gave me away?"

"I was raised in an all-magic environment for eleven years. I can spot a witch." She shrugged. "So, why are you doing this?" The woman didn't answer. "Why is a muggle so concerned with giving a squib magic? And how do you plan on pulling this off? It's been proven time and time again that you cannot scare magic into someone. It's impossible."

"It's not as impossible as you might think." She said. "You see, fear is only one component to magic. Stressing the body, however, has been known to enhance the body, turn individuals into mutates. My colleagues, your fellow wizard friends, are interested in seeing if perhaps it could be used to induce magic in squibs."

"Wait a second. Stressing my body? Couldn't that just kill me?"

"We've done this experiment before." She assured, and Amelia tried to scramble away. "None of that now, dear. We'll be back to start in a couple of hours."

Amelia watched the woman leave, her heart beating fast. She had to get out of here. Looking around the room, she tried to hatch an escape plan. There were no windows, and she was sure there were wards preventing her from leaving. She stood and walked up to the tank. Mechanics were her thing, she could work with this.

She trailed her hand over the smooth, magnetic tank. It looked almost like a sensory deprivation tank. She opened it and let her eyes trail over the tube that led out of the side of the tank. She followed it to see it hooked up to another machine. She quickly opened it up. Grinning, she pulled out some wires and began hooking them up to the wrong ports, making sure they wouldn't work and not actually backfire either. She closed it up and opened the tank. She didn't know if there was anything she could do to it without making it obvious and turned to her corner, sitting back down.

Somehow, she managed to fall asleep. There was no sense of day or night in the basement, but when she woke up, it was to the smell of a familiar sandwich. Delmar's number three with peanut butter and extra cheese.

She scrambled away though, when she saw Lefty holding it right in front of her. 

"Okay, whatever all of this is? I'm confused. Offering me my preferred sandwich is not a go-to kidnapper's move. So why don't you just go back to Oz and let me go home?"

"I'll escort you home myself, if that's what you wish. But not until we bring out your rightful powers."

"What good's that going to do you? Pretty sure all experiments are supposed to abide by a set of ethics. I don't remember signing a consent form." Lefty leaned forward and Amelia tried to push herself away only to be backed into a wall. He put a hand in her hair and chuckled.

"You coloured your Weasley hair."

"It's a whole symbolic thing. Can't you guys just choose a willing participant for this thing? My uncle literally died six months ago. My family can't lose anyone else. I don't want magic anyways. Please?" She looked him in the eye. [She was supposed to humanise herself, right? Make them see she was just like them or something. Movies were probably not the best reference point on how to survive a kidnapping, but it was better than nothing.] "It's just me, my aunt and my cousin. I've been here a week already, I think, and I just want to go home."

"Eat." Lefty growled, dropping the sandwich on her lap and storming out. [Well that was certainly _a_ reaction. Just not the one she was looking for.] She took a bite out of the sandwich. It was the first familiar thing she'd had in days, and she wasn't wasting it.

"Oh, crap." She muttered, the half-eaten sandwich falling out of her hands as she drowsily leant against the wall.

Bill was a presence to get used to. Peter really didn't know what to think. On one hand, he was part of the family that had abandoned Amelia, and Peter didn't recall any attempts to get in contact in the past five years. On the other hand, he was really cool, and he was doing a lot to help find Amelia. Plus he was good with aunt May. So far Bill had figured out some man called Yaxley (maybe? Peter wasn't sure) was involved and had been the one to take Amelia. Unfortunately the guy usually operated in Britain and Bill had no clue how he had assimilated into the US so easily as to find a place to stay without leaving a trail. So when Delmar called Peter, he brought Bill along. It didn't mean he trusted him, it just meant that Bill's help could be invaluable.

"Hey, Mr Delmar. Sorry, we got no news yet."

"I- who's this?" He asked. Peter looked at Bill.

"This is Bill. He's, uh, he's my- he's Amelia's brother."

"I didn't know she had another brother."

"Touchy subject." Peter shrugged. "He's here to try help find her."

"Then you should know this too. Someone came in with Amelia's exact order thirty five minutes ago."

"And you don't think it could just be someone randomly ordering off the menu?" Bill asked.

"Amelia's got a strange order." Peter said. "No one in their right mind would ask for it. She gets the meat lover's sandwich with extra cheese and some peanut butter." Bill grimaced. "It's disgusting, but she likes it. Keeps some peanut butter stocked in the back specifically."

"Have you got cameras?" Bill looked around the shop and Delmar nodded.

"Come here." He led them to an office in the back and wound the time back to half an hour earlier. Stopping at where the man's face was on camera, Mr Delmar moved to show Peter and Bill. Peter took a picture of the screen on his phone.


	16. 16

When Amelia woke up, she was in a confined space. She tried to move only to find she was strapped down. Beginning to hyperventilate, she struggled to get out, only for a cool voice to filter through.

"Calm down. You're okay. You'll be fine once we undo your handiwork." For a moment Amelia stopped until the words registered. She was in the tank. Lefty had enticed her with her favourite sandwich only to drug it, and now she was stuck in the machine that was supposed to stress her body. Since they knew she tampered with the machinery, it would only be a matter of time before they fixed it. She was screwed, there was no one to rescue her and she'd done a horrible job at helping herself. "There, good as new. Now, lay back and enjoy the ride."

"No!" She called. "Please don't do this, please. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want magic. I just wanna go home! Please, no! I just want to be normal, I like being a muggle. I like no powers. I don't want to be a witch! I just want my family, please."

"Shh, shh. There, there." The woman's voice was as cold and calm as ever. There was a slow hissing sound, and she felt the air being sucked out of the tank. She tried gulping in air, but she was losing oxygen faster than she could breathe. 

After what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than minutes, a cool mist began to settle on her body. She tried to take in another breath and found she could breathe. The relief didn't last long as a stabbing sensation overtook her body. Icy cold daggers attempted to poke their way out of her body as tears began to leak out of her eyes. The pain was so overwhelming, all pleas for relief died in her throat before her mouth could form the words.

Amelia didn't know how long she was in pain. She was vaguely aware that she'd passed out several times each time waking up to a new pain- a squeezing of her lungs and heart, an explosion in her head. The last time she woke up, there'd been an absence of pain. She was sure she'd died then. She had an indistinct recollection of someone carrying her but rescue was too much of a pipe dream. She'd let go then, falling into a sea of white.

Peter had never been so afraid, except for the time that he'd had to watch Ben die in front of him. And just like that moment, he was powerless to help Amelia. In fact, he hadn't done a single thing to help her. It was Bill who found out who took her, and it was Bill who'd found where she'd been taken. It was Bill who'd gone to rescue her and Bill who'd taken her to a magic hospital where she could receive appropriate help without the questions muggle doctors would have. (That was the word that meant ordinary.) It was Bill who'd vouched for them so Peter and May would be allowed into the hospital, and it was Bill who had made sure Yaxley and the others wouldn't go unpunished. There was a muggle woman involved, so Peter sent a picture of her to Ned asking his friend what he could find on the woman. That was something Peter could do to help, figure out what a muggle was doing involved in kidnapping a squib with two other wizards. She'd managed to escape soon after her capture, though.

When Amelia had finally woken up, Peter was the only one with her. As much as May had wanted to stay, she couldn't afford to miss work, especially not with Ben gone. Bill had been avoiding the hospital room for some reason Peter couldn't fathom.

"Petey?" Amelia groaned, and he leaned forward, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Hey." He said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell. I'm alive?"

"Yes, thank God. I swear, I'd have killed you myself if you died."

"Wonder spider to the rescue?" She asked and he let out a cross between a chuckle and a huff.

"No, it was Bill. And you know it's Spider-Man."

"Bill? Bill-in-Egypt Bill?"

"Well, now that he's here, I think that makes him Bill-in-New-York Bill."

"Why is he here?"

"He came by as soon as he heard you were gone. I don't know if we could have found you without him."

"What- I mean- why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is he here?"

"Because you're his sister?"

"Is he here?"

"I think he's in the waiting room." Peter shrugged before jumping up. "Wait, I'm supposed to tell people you're awake. And give you water. Water first." He grabbed a bottle from the nightstand and opened it. "Take small sips." Amelia nodded and sat up slightly. "I'll be back in a second." She smiled at her cousin as he jumped up to find a nurse. A few minutes later, Bill slipped in.

"Hi." He greeted up at the door and she looked up.

"Before you ask, no. I don't have magic. You can go report that back to whoever cares. All that happened was that I nearly died. Magic cannot be stressed or scared into a squib."

"That's not why I'm here."

"It's not? Colour me surprised."

"You got hurt."

"Do you know what's so unbelievable about this? That six months ago, I got a visit from Dumbledore claiming I must have magic. And now, out of seemingly nowhere, two wizards come searching for me specifically because they think they've cracked the code to giving a squib magic. And all that time, I wondered why me? I'm not the only squib born to a pureblood family. I don't even live on the continent they're from. So why would they come all the way to America and nab me right off the street? That's when it dawned on me. Because I'm a squib who's been suspected of possibly having already manifested magic. If their silly device would work on anyone, it would be me."

"If you think any of us would ever send the likes of Yaxley-"

"That's his name? Wasn't he on you know who's side in the war?"

"I see you remember your history."

"Whatever, he got off free. Why would he risk his freedom?"

"Because he's back. Voldemort's back and everyone who was on his side in the last war is pleading their allegiance to him again."

"That's why they took me. As a test subject. If it worked on me and they could mass produce it- they could have an army of squibs turned wizards, all loyal to him." Amelia realised. "That's what he meant- that I am a message. An advertisement and a warning. They thought I'd want the magic, that I'd join his side. That my hatred for our family for casting me out would be enough to turn me to his side. I'd have been a Weasley on the side of you know who."

"Amelia-"

"Well, it backfired. Because I don't have magic, and I don't simply hate you lot. I hate all wizards, including racist, genocidal bigots and I would never join the fight."

"Amelia-"

"I don't care what you're records say. I've never done magic, and I never will-"

"Your hands are on fire." He cut her off, and she looked down before noticing the flames. She closed her hand into a fist and they died down.

"No they're not."

"The nurses did tests on your magical core when you first got here."

"Don't say it. No."

"You do have magic." 

"No, I don't. What they were doing was making mutates. At most that is what I am. They've used that machine before, but not to entice magic. They used it to bring out mutations in ordinary muggles- turn them into mutates. I'm not a witch. I don't- I'm not."

"There's nothing wrong with being a witch-"

"I'm a muggle. I don't have magic. Please leave."

"Amelia, I know you must have felt so abandoned when mum and dad sent you away but-"

"I don't have any magic, and if I did, I'd find a way to get rid of it. I'm nothing like any of you and I never want to be. So you can go back to England or Egypt or wherever it is you're staying these days, and forget I exist. Shouldn't be so hard since you've done it before." A red ring outlined her pupil, a stark contrast against the green of her eyes.

"I never forgot about you."

"Could've fooled me." She shifted and lay back down on her bed turning on her side so that her back was to Bill.


End file.
